I honoured once again to be standing for re-election to the DWP as a GEC member. I am the organiser for DWP Glasgow branch and have been since the branch came into existence prior to that I was organiser for the DWP Clydeside and Argyll Branch. I am also the Regional Organiser for DWP Scotland and have been a local rep for the last 17 years.  

In the last year on the GEC I have helped work on moving our priorities forward and pushed against some of the decisions that our opponents have made that have been frankly damaging to PCS.  I have a track record on delivering and would like to continue my work moving the agenda of Left Unity forward in the department. I am now involved in Anti Racism campaigning for the last year working with local organisations and other trade unions to oppose the far right who have been rising in the media and on the sway of politics working with organisations such as Stand up to Racism and others opposing all hate that has infiltrated the political sphere.

We managed to get a good pay award this year but not great by any stretch and we need to work in the next year to hold this government to account and try to make them come back with an improved offer. Our lowest paid members will be put back on to the National Living Wage once again by our employer and simply put the endemic problem of low pay has to be addressed by this government it’s simply not acceptable for AA and AO members to keep being uplift by the poverty pay that this Labour government has put in place and has been no different than the last group of politicians we put in to power.

We need to keep building for more staff as well to be deployed in the right places as we can’t just keep moving staff around like deck chairs on the Titanic. We need to get more staff in and to get them to stay we must keep pushing back on the pay situation. We can push back on this and on terms and conditions that the employer have put on ourselves as staff. The pay issues is a huge factor in recruitment and the offer of Hybrid working should be extended to all staff Indeed when we look around at similar employment in the private sector many are offering hybrid working of 20% of time in the office. Staff who want to work from the office should be allowed to but other staff who can have access to full Hybrid. We need a strong leadership to get us the results we are looking for and to fix the ongoing issues. Doing this will help with maintaining our staffing and allow for better retainment and recruitment that will reduce stress and help us all.

I want to use my skill to keep pushing and working to make DWP one of the best organised and strongest groups in the union to have us lead the way so that we can show how to make things better for all members. I have gained a lot of experience in my time on the group and as a representative and feel that I am an asset to members as are all my Left Unity comrades.

Voting for left unity in the new set of elections is the only way we can keep the strong team we have who pushed back to make sure that we had a team to go into pay negotiations with the department. Making sure that members have a voice that represents them and makes the union strong to stand up to get what we all want and deserve.

I ask every member to vote for the strong, experienced and determined Left Unity candidates in the forthcoming National and DWP group elections.